Joel Dommett Hosts National Tv Awards 2026 as Voting Opens
Voting has opened for national tv awards 2026 after the longlist was revealed, putting viewers in charge of who reaches the live ceremony on Tuesday September 8. Joel Dommett is hosting again at London’s O2 Arena, and the first stage of the race is now down to the names already on the lists.
Viewers decide every winner at the National Television Awards, so the longlist is the real filter before the live show. That means the competition begins well before the September 8 ceremony, with the public shaping which dramas, performers and unscripted shows make it through.
Joel Dommett Returns to London
Tuesday September 8 brings the National Television Awards back to London’s O2 Arena with Dommett once again on hosting duty. The ceremony keeps its viewer-led format, which turns the longlist into an early test of which programmes have the broadest support rather than the loudest campaign.
That format also makes the shortlist process more competitive than a typical industry vote. A show can look strong on paper and still lose ground if its audience does not mobilise, which is why the longlist matters before anyone steps on stage.
Gary Oldman in Drama Performance
Gary Oldman appears in the Drama Performance longlist for Slow Horses, alongside Holliday Grainger for The Capture, Sheridan Smith for The Cage and Ruth Jones for The Other Bennet Sister. Those four names show how heavily the category leans on established screen actors, even before viewers narrow the field further.
The drama lists are broad enough to split attention across multiple fan bases. New Drama includes A Woman Of Substance, Death Valley, The Other Bennet Sister, The Girlfriend, The War Between the Land & The Sea and Riot Women, while Returning Drama runs from Blue Lights and Grace to Death In Paradise, Call The Midwife, Shetland and The Night Manager.
The Celebrity Traitors and soaps
The Reality Competition longlist puts The Celebrity Traitors against Love Island, The Apprentice and Race Across The World, while the Comedy category includes Amandaland, Here We Go and Changing Ends. Factual Entertainment adds Secret Garden, Parenthood, Kingdom, Wild London and A Gorilla Story, giving viewers a wider field than the headline drama race.
Serial drama remains crowded too, with Coronation Street, Emmerdale and EastEnders all listed, and the Serial Drama Performance longlist running through Paul Bradley, Joshua Richards, Sue Davaney, Milo Clarke, William Beck and Melanie Hill. January’s Corriedale crossover and last October’s audience surge for The Celebrity Traitors show how quickly big moments can shape viewer attention before voting closes.
The 2026 race already has one obvious pressure point: broad support beats prestige when the audience has the final say. If a show wants a place in the live ceremony, it has to convert recognition into votes now, not after the O2 lights come up.
